LC Community Create A Team (Step 2-4)

We are currently on Step 2 and nominating Pokemon for the fourth slot. As you know, the CCAT is where the community works together to make a team of excellent quality and creativity. The steps and instructions on how to contribute are listed below. Remember, as long as your post is thoughtful and aims to help, there is never a penalty for making a suggestion, so don't hesitate to contribute! Also, remember that we don't want some boring team with Murkrow, Misdreavus, Gligar, and Mienfoo. Be as creative as you can!

[box]Step 1: We are going to start by picking which Pokemon (and set) we are going to be basing the team around. This does NOT mean the Pokemon has to be the late game sweeper, it means the team will be built around that Pokemon and whatever role it plays. After about a week, I will select which Pokemon are going to be in the poll that will be posted after we decide on a list of Pokemon. This means you have to convince me, and others, that your Pokemon is worth being put in the vote.

Step 2: We select Pokemon that work well around our Pokemon and fit the team style and test it. The nomination and voting processes will be identical to the initial nomination. Note that this one step will be, on its own, a 5-step process as all of the remaining Pokemon will need to be determined during this phase.

Step 3: We finalize the team and write up a 5-star RMT! Please stay on topic. This thread is meant to create discussion, but lets keep it civil gents and ladies![/box]

Lastly, as much as discovering new sets is cool, please make sure that you have tested your set before posting it.

Current Team:

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I believe this set is effective in the current meta, none of the big 3 can safely switch in. Offensive Gligar is OHKO'd by +2 Aqua Jet, while defensive is beaten by Ice Punch without being able to deal enough damage back. Even defensive Misdreavus is likely to be KO'd by a +2 Crunch, with Stealth Rock guaranteeing it. Murkrow has a chance of being KO'd by a +2 Aqua Jet, while CM Featherdance will take a lot of damage from Ice Punch before you switch out. This set will need a lot of support, but near the end of the game it rips through both offensive and defensive teams. Also SE Priority for Drillbur is always nice

One issue with where we are at in the team building process is that we have a chosen Pokemon, but no direction outside of that. We do have a solid idea that Totodile is going to be a late game sweeper and the team will play a bit offensively because of that. However, we don't have much more than that. When choosing between a more defensive style or something closer to hyper offense, I'm lead to lean towards a more offensive direction. If anything, we probably need to iron this out in the next Pokemon or two we choose for the core.

Alright, since Totodile is going to be used primarily in late-game situations, why not pick something that can function early and mid game. It'd also be nice if our Pokemon could have enough power to hurt Toto's checks a bit, while keeping enough speed to outrun them. With that in mind, I'm suggesting Gligar with a Choice Scarf.

Now, this Gligar won't be blowing holes in much, but It can at least 2HKO most of Toto's important checks too, which is nifty! This power also ais enough for us to have some fun with predicted switches and scout a bit before Totodile is ready to set up on anything. This also doesn't do much for other bulky Pokemon, like Scraggy, but that might lead us to something like Mienfoo!

So what does this nig do for us? Well Totodile gets shat on by Scraggy, and does nothing to stop it from setting up. Mienfoo fixes that. With the given defensive investment, it is never OHKOed by a +1 Adamant Scraggy HJK. Since intelligent (ie: not prem) people don't run that shit, this is more a safety measure. Plus, its incredible bulk gives it outs against a lot of shit that checks Totodile, like Chinchou.

Now, other than its bulk, why are we using Mienfoo? I figured--might as well help Totodile set up, right? So here comes SubPassing. Mienfoo makes a fanfuckingtastic SubPasser due to its ability to force switches and Regenerator. Hi I'll come in on Scraggy, scare you, get up a Substitute, and then get the fuck out of there. The big reason, though, is Regenerator. For most Pokemon, if you set up a Substitute, it's crucial it remains standing. With Mienfoo, it sets it up to buffer itself from the next switch, and let you react accordingly. And even if the Substitute dies as you Baton Pass...well it's just like U-Turn, except you don't risk the hit (so it's kind of better???). Then Regenerator happens and you're at full health anyways and dgaf you wasted that Substitute. Mienfoo's relatively low speed means you will not get fucked up switching out badly, etc. The given spread will never be 2HKOed by Misdreavus at full health, but easily 2HKOes with Payback. This is important as our Totodile gets fucked by Misdreavus.

Porygon is a beast, that was intoduced massively last end-metagame, before the return of Murkrow, Gligar, and Misdreavus. It worked great last metagame, and I'd like to see us make it work this metagame as well! It's like a bulky Abra; it boasts a lot of power while still having tons of bulk. Tri Attack is an AMAZING STAB which can also Burn, Freeze, or Paralyze. Charge Beam because boosting your Special Attack is sweet, and it also creates the BoltBeam coverage with Ice Beam. If we use Snover Porygon would prefer Blizzard. Recover is a great recovery move. Trace, however, is probably what makes Porygon so annoying. If we switch Porygon into Murkrow it gets Prankster, which will allow it to priority Recover. If the opponent switches Mienfoo as we switch Porygon we get Regenerator, or even if Slowpoke switches in. Magic Guard Abra is also an amazing Pokemon to switch into; taking no damage from weather, especially if we're using Snover, is BOSS.

Venonat 4x resists porygon's only weakness virtually ensuring a safe switch in. Sleep powder with compound eyes becomes nearly unmissable. Agility is great as not only does it ensure it out-speeds all scarfers bar elekid (who he still ties with), he can get a guarenteed baton pass in unless he's hit by an inconvenient prankster taunt (which is rare). Porygon with a +2 speed boost even with no speed investment still out-speeds everything unscarfed making him tricky to revenge kill with such good defenses and speed. Psychic supports porygon well as it hits fighting types for super-effective damage as well as being his strongest move outside of sludge bomb, which has terrible coverage.

Eevee boasts a powerful Quick Attack when paired with Adaptability, on par with a non-STAB'd Extremespeed, making it easy for Eevee to pick off weakened foes. Return also becomes an incredible 204 Base Power move, hitting everything that's not resistant to it hard. Bite and Hidden Power Fire round out Eevee's coverage and allow it to hit Ghost and Steel-types who won't take much from its STABs, potentially OHKOing Eviolite Gastly and 2HKOing standard Frillish and Ferroseed, provided the former 2 have switched in on Stealth Rock.

While I agree Venonat would be awesome support for Porygon; I'm pretty sure the point of this thread would be to suggest mons to build around. You're jumping the gun to Step 2.

Venonat itself can be built around though; lots of things enjoy an (almost) equivlent spore/AgiPass.

Anyways; will post a set I have in mind after I test it some.

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Yeah :L I just don't really know anything under-rated to build a team around that would work well in the current meta-game...

I did use dratini a while a couple of metas ago and it worked well, especially once you got around steel types. Here's a slightly custom-made set for this meta which I will try and test out when I get the chance. This in theory could work well if given some steel-killing support (magnemite, show us your stuff).

This is based around a normal DD set but has quite a few tweaks to fit better in the meta-game. Dragon Dance does what we all know it does, boosts his very nice attack (hits a good 17 with adamant nature) Dragon Rush, yes, it is quite innacurate, but getting locked into a move is really bad in this meta-game where faster scarfers and priority are everywhere. Extreme speed is the crux of the set, beating faster scarfers and priority abusers allowing dratini to sweep more easily. Ice beam takes the place of where fire blast usually is. This is important as it OHKOes the most used pokemon in the tier, gligar, who would otherwise wall this set as well as hitting murkrow harder than extreme speed if it tries to switch in. The EVS seem strange but they are tailored to give him maximum attack, ensuring he hits as hard as possible with extreme speed, as well as some good special bulk which is handy seeing as dratini has a great specially defensive typing. As I said, I haven't tested this (it would be great if someone else could test this too) and I'll get over to it ASAP. Sorry if this is posted too early.

Little Cup Co-Leader

This guy isn't really seen much, but it's damn powerful. After a Swords Dance, not much can survive a sucker punch coming from 38 atk. It can also abuse subpunch with Sand Veil which is sure to frustrate the opponent especially with Brightpowder (Although I think Oran Berry is the superior option). Substitute also works well with Sucker Punch as it forces the opponent to attack.

This guy isn't really seen much, but it's damn powerful. After a Swords Dance, not much can survive a sucker punch coming from 38 atk. It can also abuse subpunch with Sand Veil which is sure to frustrate the opponent especially with Brightpowder (Although I think Oran Berry is the superior option). Substitute also works well with Sucker Punch as it forces the opponent to attack.

P.S. Where do you guys get the moving sprites from?

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This looks like it could be fun :). I hope you don't mind if I test it out. Btw, on your set, the speed EVs are pointless as focus punch has negative priority and sucker punch has positive unless you just want it to get a substiute up really quickly, but 11 speed will probably do. I'll try the same set with HP EVs instead, though I may give drain punch and seed bomb a go.

Little Cup Co-Leader

This looks like it could be fun :). I hope you don't mind if I test it out. Btw, on your set, the speed EVs are pointless as focus punch has negative priority and sucker punch has positive unless you just want it to get a substiute up really quickly, but 11 speed will probably do. I'll try the same set with HP EVs instead, though I may give drain punch and seed bomb a go.

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Yes I suppose the Speed EV's are slightly redundant, I'm not sure what threats you'd need to outspeed. Drain Punch and Seed Bomb/Bullet Seed work too I guess. I just like haxing with a sub up because I'm cheap like that.

Basically, everything under 21 is completely fucked. Switch in on predicted burn/poison/ghost/encored useless moves, SD, and get frags. The problem is that it's pretty much defenseless against anything faster than it, priority and scarfers. Those things are actually a lot rarer this generation, which is much less fast and more bulky-offensive. Anyway, sweeping with glass cannons is pretty god damn fun, and Teddiursa can really wreck shit up. Using frail end-game sweepers requires a lot of strategic stuff, and most LC teams don't bother using one. It would be cool to make a team that utilized the hard-hitting, fast sweepers to beat this generation's new Eviolite'd threats.

Although AcroBat is seen on virtually every team, defensive Gligar certainly merits use as it fills a completely different role. Primarily, it is a monster late game (see the teambat where it single handedly played to my demise) once the opponent is unfortunate enough to lack anything to break through it. Also, it is notable for being a more solid switch-in to Fighting-types than AcroBat. Finally, it deviates from the current trend in the metagame of high Speed, high offensive Pokemon and with Eviolite provides enough bulk to take nigh all physical attacks.

This thing actually can do a lot of damage. With 21 Speed and 16 Special Attack, Water Spout actually hurts a ton. While it isn't powerful to OHKO things on its own, it will 2HKO common switchins, such as Eviolite Misdreavus:

Shadow Ball is a nice auxillary STAB move, while Hydro Pump and Surf provide secondary Water-type attacks. The last slot comes down to personal preference: Energy Ball usually will 2HKO Chinchou after Stealth Rock (41.67% - 58.33%), while Ice Beam hits Dragon-types and Recover can allow Frillish to repower its Water Spout on a predicted switch/choiced Water-type attack. Water Absorb also helps out here.

Staryu is obviously awesome for removing Stealth Rock/Spikes, Gligar/Dwebble for entry hazards, etc. Pretty standard for a sweeper in terms of teammates, with slightly more emphasis on spinning.

In general, Frillish hits surprisngly hard, and the sheer surprise value of a non-defensive Frillish will net it at least one or two KOes per match if played well.

NU Co-Leader

I believe this set is effective in the current meta, none of the big 3 can safely switch in. Offensive Gligar is OHKO'd by +2 Aqua Jet, while defensive is beaten by Ice Punch without being able to deal enough damage back. Even defensive Misdreavus is likely to be KO'd by a +2 Crunch, with Stealth Rock guaranteeing it. Murkrow has a chance of being KO'd by a +2 Aqua Jet, while CM Featherdance will take a lot of damage from Ice Punch before you switch out. This set will need a lot of support, but near the end of the game it rips through both offensive and defensive teams. Also SE Priority for Drillbur is always nice

After some thought, it's gotta be Cacnea. I find pretty Teddiursa and Totodile pretty one dimensional, especially when one considers the fact that Totodile REALLY struggles to compete with Tirtouga (higher base Attack, secondary STAB, Shell Smash) and they're both pretty prone to being revenged. Most notably, I think Snover has started to overpopulate the tier and that sand is still probably a viable strategy, despite the fact that a lot of people are afraid to use it. I've never really been interested in Trick Room due to how easy it is to stall out, but Solosis' power could almost make up for that. Either way, I think Cacnea is the way to go because it has some different options, is pretty unpredictable, and I would like to see a tandem Sand Veil abuse team between it and Gligar (considering Sand Veil was really what many people thought sent Gligar over the top anyways...).

In terms of what set to use, I'm not entirely sure. I've used the set posted above, and also used a bulkier spread and replaced Swords Dance with Toxic. I've also toyed with Synthesis, but sandstorm really hurts that. Still relatively unsure about what's a good idea where. I really would like to see Baton Pass Gligar considered as a teammate, as you pass a Swords Dance to Cacnea when Chinchou comes in or on a weaker shot from Bronzor and see what happens. The double ice weakness there is a bummer, but can be worked around for sure. Overall, interested to see where this goes.

tl;dr: Cacnea is the only multidimensional guy up there that seems both fun to use while being very unique.

For the record, BrightPowder is banned under the Evasion clause, thus Cacnea cannot use it in tandem with Sand Veil. Just making sure that was clear since the set posted has BrightPowder as an option.

I think Cacnea and Solosis are both good options, but not the sets that were proposed. Trick Room just doesn't work well in Little Cup since so many Pokemon run Protect and use Eviolite. It was great last Gen when the metagame was frailer and much more offensive-based. With the introduction of Eviolite, it is really difficult to pull off Trick Room. It could propose an interesting challenge when building a team, but I just can't see it being successful, especially when Murkrow's priority moves complete negate it. And that Cacnea set is easily worked around with Gligar and MissyD. So long as you aren't attacking it, Cacnea can't do squat. You can just set up while it tries to Sucker Punch you.

If the community were to pursue those Pokemon, I think a more bulky attacker approach to Solosis and support-based Cacnea would be better. Solosis's Magic Guard means it can switch in repeatedly without fear of hazards, status, etc. That means when it uses Recover it can "hang on" to that health much longer. Solosis's Special Attack is so high it doesn't need Life Orb to inflict a lot of damage, so it can afford to run Eviolite. Cacnea has access to moves like Spikes, Switcheroo and Destiny Bond that allow it to support its team with hazards or messing up a dangerous Pokemon. It also has two forms of semi-reliable recovery: Giga Drain and Drain Punch. Both of Cacnea's offensive stats are great, so it can use them both effectively. It could pose to be a challenge to stop, especially considering Sand Veil.

Totodile was my original vote; but to be honest; rayjay is right: Tirtogua gives it a lot of competition that it really doesnt have an answer to. Totodile needs his Sheer Force for Recoiless LO attacks pretty badly.

Teddiursa gets my vote. It's adorable and has potential. Plus I think cacnea is lame :/ and TR can be used in tandem with a Teddiursa.